StarHub offering some customers early trial access to 5G

STARHUB said it is giving customers on its new Mobile+ and Biz+ mobile plans early 5G access, starting Aug 18.

Customers on the plans will be able to automatically experience some early 5G benefits when they are on compatible mobile devices. This includes being able to "stream, game and surf super smoothly and reliably", the telco announced on Monday.

The trial access to StarHub 5G is free in the lead-up to the full commercial launch of 5G standalone services next year, it added. StarHub and partner M1 are one of two winners of a 5G licence in Singapore, the other being Singapore Telecommunications.

StarHub is in the midst of its 5G trial, which will run until Feb 16, 2021. Its 5G network is running on non-standalone architecture that rides on existing 4G infrastructure, but it will switch to standalone architecture by mid-2021.

The telco said its 5G signals currently cover 53 per cent of Singapore's populated areas, including the central business district, Ang Mo Kio, Bedok, Clementi, Jurong, Orchard, Tampines, Woodlands and Yishun. Coverage will expand to reach 70 per cent by September, it added.

StarHub chief of consumer business group Johan Buse said the telco was "eager" for its customers to catch an early glimpse into the ultra-fast speed and ultra-low-latency upgrades".

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Compatible devices that can access StarHub 5G include Huawei's P40 Pro and P40 Pro+ 5G. Customers with Samsung's Galaxy S20 Ultra 5G, Note20 5G and Note20 Ultra 5G can expect to receive 5G software updates from Samsung in phases starting end-August, while those owning OPPO's X2 Pro will get 5G software updates from OPPO progressively from end-October, StarHub said.

The Infocomm Media Development Authority on Monday said it supports the plans of mobile network operators to deploy non-standalone 5G networks. This will allow trials for consumers to enjoy partial 5G experiences in the near term - with the key benefit being faster mobile speeds - ahead of the nationwide rollout of 5G standalone networks by 2025.

Singapore is on track to deploy two nationwide 5G standalone networks by 2025. By end-2022, 5G standalone capabilities will cover at least half of the country.

StarHub shares were trading at S$1.21 as at 11.40am on Tuesday, down S$0.02 or 1.6 per cent.